Traditio Of Animus
by Gingerstar
Summary: Stories. Tales. Whims of the lost. The story of an often pitied, but strong character whose story deserves to be told. This is the best I can come to create that story for you. Come read.


**Allegiances:**

_**Thunderclan~**_

**Leader~ Sunstar~ Yellow tom with long fur with tabby stripes and green eyes**

**Deputy~ Tawnyspots~ Light brown she-cat tabby; due to retire soon**

**Medicine Cat~ Featherwhisker~ Pale gray tom with long fur and whiskers**

**Apprentice~ Spottedpaw**

_**Warriors~ Toms and She-cats who hunt and fight for their clan;**_

**Thistleclaw~ Dark brown tabby with amber eyes ( Father of Tigerpaw)**

**Apprentice~ Tigerpaw**

**Lionheart~ Golden tom with amber eyes, young warrior**

**Patchpelt~ Small white and black tom**

**Apprentice~ Mousepaw**

**Smallear~ Senior warrior, gray tom with small ears **

**Nettlepelt~ Pale gray she-cat, senior warrior**

**Dappletail~ Pretty tortoiseshell with a dappled coat (Mate- Patchpelt; Mother of Spottedpaw and Tigerpaw)**

**Bramblepelt~ Big dark brown tabby with glowing green eyes (Brother of Thistleclaw)**

**Redtail~ Small tortoiseshell tom with a distinctive ginger tail**

**Frostfur~ Young warrior with a white coat and striking blue eyes (Mate~ Redtail)**

**Apprentice~ Willowpaw**

**Speckletail~ Pretty dappled she-cat senior warrior**

_**Apprentices~ Toms and She-cats more than six moons' old, who are training to be warriors**_

**Tigerpaw~ Dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes and unusually long front claws (Son of Thistleclaw and Dappletail)**

**Runningpaw~ Unusually fast tabby tom with laughing amber eyes**

**Mousepaw~ Dusky brown she-cat with sharp green eyes, but even sharper tongue**

**Willowpaw~ Very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes **

**Spottedpaw~ Beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with pretty amber eyes (Sister of Tigerpaw)**

**Whitepaw~ White tom with strong amber eyes (Son of Snowfur [Deceased])**

_**Queens, or she-cats that are nursing kits or expecting**_

**Bluefur~ Blue gray she-cat with silver tinged around her muzzle; mother of Stonekit, Mistykit, and Mosskit**

**Apprentice~ Runningpaw**

**Darkfoot~ Dark gray, almost black she-cat with dark blue eyes; mother of Longkit and Darkkit**

_**Elders, toms and she-cats that are retired after countless moons of service and will for their clan;**_

**Cragpelt~ Ginger tom with blazing amber eyes; cranky and irritable**

**Kestrelfoot~ Quiet white she-cat with sparkling yellow eyes**

_**Shadowclan~**_

**Leader~ Raggedstar~ Large dark brown tabby tom with fur ragged and patchy from fighting as a kit**

**Apprentice~ Clawpaw**

**Deputy~ Cloudpelt~ Completely white tom with serious amber eyes (Father of Blackpaw) **

**Medicine Cat~ Yellowfang~ Dark gray she-cat with broad, flattened muzzle, yellow eyes**

_**Warriors; toms and she-cats who hunt and fight for the clan**_

**Nightfur~ Black tom with forest green eyes, senior warrior**

**Apprentice~ Blackpaw**

**Cinderfur~ Gray tom with orange eyes, senior warrior**

**Stumpytail~ Young warrior, brown tabby tom**

**Apprentice~ Russetpaw**

**Ashfur~ Dark gray tom with blue eyes, senior warrior**

**Flametail~ Dark ginger tom with green eyes (Father of Russetpaw and Rowanpaw)**

**Apprentice~ Rowanpaw**

**Pricklepelt~ Black she-cat with sparkling green eyes, great hunter**

_**Apprentices; toms and she-cats older than six moons, training to be warriors**_

**Blackpaw~ Young white tom with huge black paws and curious amber eyes**

**Russetpaw~ Dark ginger she-cat with blazing green eyes (Sister of Rowanpaw)**

**Rowanpaw~ Reddish tom with amber eyes **

**Clawpaw~ Brown tom with angry green eyes**

_**Queens; she-cats expecting or nursing kits**_

**Lizardstripe~ Pale brown tabby with a white chest and dark blue eyes; mother of Brokenkit, Russetpaw, and Rowanpaw; expecting**

_**Elders; retired toms and she-cats who have finished their service in the clan**_

**Blackscar~ Black tom with long, vertical scar running down the length of his neck**

_**Riverclan~**_

**Leader~ Crookedstar~ Huge light-colored tabby tom with green eyes and a twisted jaw**

**Deputy~ Rocktail~ Dark brown tom with bright orange eyes (Father of Loudpaw and Leafpaw)**

**Medicine Cat~ Mudfur~ Light brown tabby tom with blue eyes**

_**Warriors; toms and she-cats who fight and hunt for their clan**_

**Oakheart~ Reddish brown tom with amber eyes**

**Nettlepelt~ Dappled gray-black she-cat with pretty yellow eyes**

**Apprentice~ Loudpaw**

**Cedartooth~ Spotted tom with dark green eyes (Father of Leopardkit and Blackkit)**

**Apprentice~ Leafpaw**

**Brownfoot~ Brown she-cat with flaming amber eyes**

_**Apprentices; she-cats and toms who are older than 6 moons, training to be warriors**_

**Loudpaw~ Black tom with white specks on coat, green eyes**

**Leafpaw~ Pretty white she-cat with red specks on her coat, blue eyes**

_**Queens; she-cats who are expecting or nursing kits**_

**Graypool~ Dark gray she-cat with pretty blue eyes; mother of stillborn litter**

**Greenflower~ Black she-cat with stunning green eyes; mother of Leopardkit and Blackkit**

_**Elders; retired toms and she-cats that have finished their service to the clan**_

**Pebblefoot~ Small ginger tabby, oldest tom in Riverclan**

**Smoketail~ Sooty gray she-cat with dark green eyes; oldest cat in Riverclan**

_**Windclan~**_

**Leader~ Tallstar~ Black and white tom with unusually long tail and amber eyes**

**Deputy~ Deadfoot~ Black tom with a twisted paw and dark blue eyes**

**Medicine Cat~ Barkface~ Short-tailed brown tom**

_**Warriors; toms and she-cats that fight and hunt for their clan**_

**Crowfur~ Young black tom with barely visible dark gray stripes on back**

**Apprentice~ Gorsepaw**

**Rabbitear~ Brown she-cat with incredibly long ears; great rabbit hunter**

**Heatherpelt~ Very pale brown she-cat with blue eyes**

**Eagleflight~ White she-cat with long legs; fastest cat in clan**

_**Queens; she-cats expecting or nursing kits**_

**Brambleflower~ Wiry ginger tabby she-cat with green eyes that sparkle; mother of Onekit, Mudkit, and Morningkit**

**Ashfoot~ Young queen with dark amber eyes; expecting**

_**Elders; retired toms and she-cats that have finished their service to the clan**_

**Graypelt~ Old gray tom with scarred muzzle; oldest cat in clan**

_**A/N~**_**This is a multi-view story sort of like the one I already wrote; but a**_** MUCH**_** better first chapter. It is an AU story contemplating Stonefur's, and other Riverclan cat's lives. What would have happened if Stonefur had lived? It will mostly be Stonefur's POV, but some Leopardfur and Mistyfoot POV's in here too. Can't leave out the girls, eh? Lol (After all, I AM a girl,) Please read and review, and constructive criticism is appreciated. :D**

"**The Eve of Trepidation"**

_**Bluefur's POV**_

Lightning crackled as its golden-white light was spread out across the frozen forest wasteland, rain pelting everything in sight; trees, plants, animals, even the river couldn't escape the drenching. Water-logged brambles trembled, exposing a dark gray blue shape in the night; hardly visible in the semi-pitch black undergrowth. The shape slowly revealed itself to be three shapes; a cat and her kittens. One kitten was carried in Bluefur's mouth; the other two were forced to get there on their own paws. She padded relatively quickly to a small copse of bushes big enough to hide in. Bluefur shivered; she didn't know how long her kits would last in such cold, stormy weather; and it was the middle of Leafbare. Concerned, she looked down again at her kits; it was Mosskit she was mostly worried about, he was the weakest, being born the last out of her litter. The little gray-bracken colored kit had stopped squirming and fidgeting like Mistykit and Stonekit were, trying to get as close to Bluefur and each other as possible. Feeling a stab of panic, Bluefur licked him on the head and gently set him between her front paws, trying to warm him up. He had been so cold. She numbly touched noses with him, and felt no heat coming from the little body. His whiskers were icicles, ready to snap off at any moment. "Oh Mosskit!" wailed Bluefur. "Why did I do this to you?" In her grief, Bluefur stared up to Silverpelt, to see if she could find the one star that was her dear son. She saw a flash of white pelt, and remembered her sister, Snowfur. _Guide my son well, sister,_ prayed Bluefur silently, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Hearing the ferns rustle, she glanced up to see a bracken colored tom coming toward them. She felt relief and grief mixing with anger. Why hadn't he come here sooner? _But,_ she reasoned with herself,_ if I hadn't tried to bring them here in the first place, Mosskit would still be alive! It's not Oakheart's fault, it's _your_ fault, Bluefur!_ Bluefur stared at Oakheart bleakly.

"He's dead, Oakheart."

She spoke so quietly, she could barely hear herself. Oakheart stood there for a moment, his eyes overcome with grief for their lost son. Then he gently licked Bluefur on the head; and taking Mosskit's body gently by the scruff, he went into the woods a little far off, to bury the young kit. Bluefur watched him go, her blue eyes filling with sadness due to the fact she would never see Stonekit and Mistykit again, never to watch them become warriors….or deputies….or even apprentices! When Oakheart came back, he carefully cleaned himself and the kits of the Thunderclan scent on them.

"Goodbye Bluefur. I love you." Bluefur could barely hear the words of her mate as he and their kits crossed the river, they were drowned out in the thunderous downpour, which had picked up since Mosskit had died, as if Starclan themselves were weeping of the loss of such a young life. Sadly she mouthed the words "I love you too," before she slowly went back to camp to put on an act of looking for her kits, grief still shining brightly in her blue eyes. She would never forget the loss that had plagued them. _Never…_

_**Oakheart's POV**_

As Oakheart made his way back to the Riverclan camp, he felt as though this were all a dream, and when he woke up, Mosskit would still be alive, and Stonekit and Mistykit would be safe and sound in the Thunderclan camp. not that he didn't want his kits growing up to be Riverclan warriors, he just felt Mosskit should have come too. Suddenly Mistykit fell behind, staggering on her three day-old paws. Gently, Oakheart picked her up, the little kit dangled tiredly from her father's jaws. As Oakheart padded toward the camp entrance, he worried that Stonekit would fall behind them, but the little tom trooped on, blind to the world, but only knocking into things occasionally._ He will make a good warrior,_ thought Oakheart, as he clambered through the willow tree ringed clearing._ if he makes it that far._ As he expected, the clearing was devoid of cats; they were all asleep or sheltering from the storm in their dens. Quietly, he padded over to the nursery, thankful that Stonekit and Mistykit had been relatively quiet in the camp. He shouldered his way in the den, Mistykit swaying gently in his grasp. "Graypool?" he whispered. A pair of glowing blue eyes met his in the darkness.

"Oakheart…?" she yawned, blinking. "What are you doing here..?"

"I've come to give you these kits. I found them out in the forest." Oakheart tried not to put any pleading in his voice.

"Where is their mother?" Graypool's voice was sharp, though quiet as to not to disturb the other queens.

Oakheart shrugged, " Probably a rouge or something, they were alone when I found them." Graypool's eyes narrowed in suspicion, and Oakheart fretted that she would refuse the kits again. But eventually her mothering instincts kicked in and she tucked Mistykit and Stonekit into her side to suckle.

"You're sure their mother is gone?" asked Graypool once she was sure the kits were settled.

"_Yes._" Oakheart promised, feeling irritable but grateful to the Riverclan queen.

"Okay. Do you know their names?" inquired the queen.

"Yes, their names are Stonekit, Mistykit, and---there are only two of them." Oakheart mentally cringed; he almost made a real slip there, and his grief for Mosskit was still too raw. It was hard to pretend he didn't even exist. His eyes must have shone grief, or exhaustion, because Graypool gently mewed,

"You look tired Oakheart, go and sleep. I'll take care of the young ones."

There was a pause. "You're the father, aren't you Oakheart?" she asked suddenly.

Confused for a moment, Oakheart didn't respond, his exhausted brain not fully focusing. "What? Of course they're my kits, well, at least, they have my scent on them don't they?"

Shaking his head tiredly, the RiverClan warrior padded out of the nursery. Calling quietly out behind him, he said, "I'll come visit you tomorrow." Graypool nodded, and bent her head gently to sniff the kits. Oakheart never noticed her startled gasp of surprise or the piercing look she gave the space the warrior had been. Never once had it crossed his mind that someone would figure out his and Bluefur's secret.

The leaves swirled prettily in the evening breeze. Floating up and around, going in all directions and landing all over the ground, it almost seemed playful, in a strange way. One leaf came down and landed gently on the ground by the apprentice den. Eagerly, an apprentice jumped out and pinned the leaf beneath his outstretched paws. "Hah-hah! I got it!" Stonepaw leaped up in a 'victory pose', contorting his body to look mean and threatening.

"Congratulations. You've caught a leaf." Leopardpaw's dry voice ruined the moment, but before he could make a retort, she had jumped on him and commenced a fight. She landed a blow on his shoulder, causing him to reel back in pain, but quickly recovered, hitting her across the face with a sheathed paw. The two apprentices rolled over, limbs flailing as they each tried to hit the other. Stonepaw was on top for a second, and he flashed a victorious grin at Leopardpaw, before realizing in surprise that she started to rake her hind claws down his underside. With an undignified yelp, he fell over, and now she was on the upside, paws firmly holding him in place.

"I win!" She cheered, jumping off him and landing gently on her feet.

Stonepaw was just sitting up, trying to hide his embarrassment by licking his fur, when they both looked up at the sound of their Leader's summons.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Smoothrock for a Clan meeting! We have important news."

From all over, cats began to appear, some swimming back from hunting, prey clasped firmly in their jaws. Others gathered around the Smoothrock, pelts sleek and glossy with a look of good health and plenty prey. Still, some cats simply stood by their dens, content to listen from afar. Stonepaw caught the eye of Mudfur, the medicine cat. He seemed excited, almost like he wanted to run around the camp in a hyper daze. _I wonder what's got him so riled up,_ mused Stonepaw. His ear twitched as he heard the other apprentices coming out of the den. He didn't even have to turn around to know which ones were coming out, his clanmates each had their own…unique way of moving. Loudpaw, one of the 'senior' apprentices, stumbled out like a runaway Twoleg monster, and they liked to joke that the ground shook when he walked. He gave a loud and obnoxious yawn, accompanied by a luxurious ear-scratching. Loudpaw believed that a steady diet of lots of food and plenty of sleep made the best warrior, so he was usually late to training sessions. While his sister, Leafpaw, was his polar opposite; never late to a training session, very serious all the time, had a non-existent sense of humor, and was basically a workaholic. When his sister, Mistypaw, walked out of the den, along with Blackpaw, she walked with a slight patter in her step, while Blackpaw liked to punctuate each step, making him sound heavier than he really was.

They were all gathered in the middle of the clearing, by that time most of the Clan was congregating around the Smoothrock, waiting for their leader to speak. The apprentices could hardly contain their excitement. Tonight was the Gathering. It would be Stonepaw's first Gathering, but Leopardpaw and Mistypaw had got lucky and got to go last time. He and Blackpaw exchanged excited looks. What if they were picked to go? Eagerly, Stonepaw tuned into Crookedstar's words. He was calling a cat up to the Smoothrock, a kit…one of Brownpelt's kits, Whitekit, was to be the new Medicine Cat apprentice! _So _that's_ what Mudfur was so hyped up for…_ thought Stonepaw. Next to him, Loudpaw muttered something to Leopardpaw, almost too quiet for him to hear, "This better hurry up, I want to go to the Gathering already…" The she-cat shot him an annoyed glance.

"Respect your Clanmates, Loudpaw! Besides, you don't even know if you'll _go_ to the Gathering." Leopardpaw and Loudpaw didn't get along very well. She thought he was a lazy bum, while he was annoyed she was a better fighter than him. On his other side was Leafpaw. She was silent, watching the ceremony with a bored, detached air. The twitching of her tail was the only visible sign of her impatience. Finally, after all the words were said, Whitepaw skipped merrily to stand by the medicine den, nearly being run over by Mudfur, who was so excited he ran back to his den. Now,_ he'll announce who's going to the Gathering. Hopefully…_ Stonepaw thought fleetingly.

Suddenly, he noticed that some cats were grouping by the entrance reeds, close to the edge of the river. Panic gripped him, had Crookedstar already called the names? Then he heard someone calling his name. He saw Leopardpaw waving her tail, calling him over to the group of Gathering-bound cats. Relief and embarrassment flowed over him like a wave in the river. "Thanks," Stonepaw murmured abashedly to his friend.

"That's okay. It was actually pretty funny." Leopardpaw sniggered, tail curling up in amusement at his expense.

Stonepaw flicked his tail, annoyed. "Gee, _thanks…_"

She continued, "You were lucky I was here. Anyway, Blackpaw, you, and I were the only apprentices picked to go. Heh, should've seen Loudpaw's face, I thought he was gonna cry." They continued to walk, both of them catching up with Blackpaw and all of RiverClan proudly walking through their territory to FourTrees.

As they neared the clearing, Stonepaw hesitated, and then asked Leopardpaw, "So, what's it like, being at a Gathering?" But she didn't answer, instead stared in awe and excitement down at the massive amount of cats all squished together. Stonepaw too, was enraptured by the fantastic view of FourTrees from their vantage point. It was like you could see everything, illuminated by the gentle glow of the pale moon overhead. And in the middle, stood the magnificent oaks that had stood for countless generations before.


End file.
